Paul Richardson arrived in Cameroon as USAID Representative in October 2020.  In this capacity, he will oversee USAID’s development assistance in support of the environment, global health, economic growth and development, humanitarian assistance and countering violent extremism.

Paul Richardson is a career Foreign Service Officer with over 25 years of international development experience.  He previously served as the Tajikistan Country Director where he oversaw USAID/Central Asia’s largest bilateral assistance portfolio in economic growth, energy, health, education, and democracy and governance.  

Mr. Richardson started his career with USAID as a Private Enterprise Officer and has played an integral part in USAID’s technical and humanitarian assistance efforts in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Middle East, Africa and South Asia for the past 15 years. He has directed programs in agriculture, public finance, trade, energy, environment, water, education, and health and completed tours in Ghana, Ukraine, Iraq, Sri Lanka, South Sudan, and Kazakhstan.  

Before joining USAID, Mr. Richardson was the Director of International Partnership Programs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC, Head of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in the United Kingdom and a financial analyst with UNIDO in Italy.  

Mr. Richardson hails from Montreal, Canada.  He holds a Master's degree in International Economics and Management from Bocconi University in Italy, a B.A. in Economics from Concordia University in Montreal and a Diplôme Collegiate d’Ecole in Commerce from John Abbott College in Montreal.  He speaks Russian and French.